Counterbalanced door or cover for retorts or similar vessels.



R. G. STILES.

GOUNTERBALANOED DOOR 0R covnn FOR RETORTS 0R SIMILAR VESSELS.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JUNE 17, 1913. RENEWED SEPT. 3, 1914.

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R. G. STILES. OOUNTERBALAHGED DOOR 0R COVER FOB. RETORTS OR SIMILAR VESSBLS.

APPLIOATION FILED mm: 17, 1913. RENEWED SEPT. s, 1914.

1,1 15,346, Patented 0ct.27,1914

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omrnn s'rn'rns rnrnnr ornion ROBERT Gr. STILES, OF PARKERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

COUNTERBALANGED DfitlR 0R COVER FOR, RETORTS 0R SIMILAR VESSELS.

Application filed .Tune 17, 1913, Serial No. 774,159.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT Gr. STILES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Parkersburg, in the county of Wood and State of West Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Counter-balanced Doors or Covers for Retorts or Similar Vessels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to counterbalanced lids or covers for wood steaming retorts and similar vessels, the object of the invention being to provide a door which is movable into and out of registering relation to the doorway upon a support and adjustable on said support relative to the doorway, and which embodies counterbalancing means regulated by the door adjusting means for counterbalancing the weight of the door in any of its positions, thereby allowing the door to be handled without exertion on the part of the operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a retort having a door and doorway of square or other convenient rectangular form, thus facilitating the insertion and removal of the material to be treated, and to provide counterbalancing mechanism which insures a proper adjustment of the counterbalancing weights when the door is moved to opened or closed positions to accurately balance the weight of the door and its supporting and adjusting means.

The invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a retort embodying my invention, showing the door closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the retort showing the door opened. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the retort with the door in the position shown in Fig. 2. 4 1s a view showing the sliding bar and its con nection with the yoke and screw shaft. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the yoke and one of the weighted arms, showing the connection between the associated weight and link.

In the present instance, application of my invention I have shown the to a horizontal.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnt ed Oct, 2'7, 1914i.

Renewed September 3, 1914. SerialNo. 860,097.

retort 1 mounted upon a stand composed of supporting legs 2, and having at one end a doorway or opening 3, provided with an outwardly projecting marginal flange 4. Preferably the retort is made of square or other rectangular, form in cross section, and the doorway or opening 3 is of similar form, enabling the material to be inserted and removed with great facility.

A door or cover 5 is provided to surround the flange 4 and tightly close the doorway. This door is swiveled to the lower end of a screw shaft 6 adjustable in a central screw threaded bearing aperture 7 in a swinging supporting yoke 8, the door being provided at each side with a pair of spaced guide lugs 9 engaging and sliding in contact with the yoke arms to guide the door in its movements.

The arms of the yoke 8 extend down on V opposite sides of the retort and are provided adjacent their ends with bearings 10 pivotally engaging trunnions 11 on the retort, whereby the yoke is adapted to swing through an arc of 90 between the vertical and horizontal. The yoke arms are held in engagement with the trunnions by retaining nuts 12 and stop lugs 13 are provided on the retort body to limit the downward swinging motion of the yoke, said lugs being preferably provided with adjustable stop screws 14 for contact with the yoke arms, whereby the stops may be set to accurately arrest the-downward movement of the yoke when the door is brought into position for movement toward the door opening to close the same.

By means of the screw shaft 6, which is provided with a hand wheel 15, the door may be adjusted outwardly from the doorway preliminarily to swinging it upwardly to an open position, in order that it may clear the front of the retort body in its opening and closing movements. When the yoke is swung upwardly to a vertical position and overlies the retort, the door 5 will be held entirely clear of the doorway, allowwith the doorway, so that by adjustment of the screw shaft 6 the door may be moved inwardly to retort closing position.

In order to provide simple and effective means for counterbalancing the weight of the yoke, door and screw shaft at all times, arms or guide bars 16 are bolted or otherwise fastened to the ends of the yoke arms and constitute extensions thereof. On these arms or bars are slidably mounted weights 17, which are adjustable on said arms or bars toward and from the trunnions 10, or center of swinging motion of the yoke, to regulate and vary their counterbalancing action, it

being understood that the weights when disposed in certain positions will accurately balance the weight of the yoke and door, thereby enabling the yoke to be swung to door opening and closing positions with a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator.

The weights 17 are coupled by links 18 to the outer longarms or levers 19, which levers are fulcrumed, as at 20, at points inwardly of their centers to the yoke 8 on opposite sides of the bearing 7, and having their inner short arms pivotally connected, as at 21, with a bar 22 sliding in a guide 23 on the yoke. The bar 22 is movable in a plane parallel with the screw shaft 6 and is provided at its outer end with a forked portion 24 engaging an annularly grooved collar 25 fixed to the screw shaft, whereby when said shaft is adjusted to move the door 5 in or out the bar 22 will be correspondingly adjusted and through the medium of the levers 19 and links 18 will adjust the weights 17 in or out to a corresponding degree, the weights having substantially the same extent of motion as that of thedoor upon the yoke, whereby the weights will be shifted as the door is shifted on the yoke to maintain an accurate counterbalance.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that my invention provides a counterbalancing mechanism which is adjustable to compensate for changes in the position of the door with relation to the yoke to maintain a constant and accurate counterbalancing action, whereby the amount of power required to be exerted by the operator in opening and closing the door is reduced to the minimum. It will also be seen that this result is gained by the use of a counterbalancing mechanism which is automatically adjustable with the door and which is simple of construction and reliable and eiiicient in operation.

Iaving thus described my claim: o

1. In a retort, a retort body having a door-way, a swinging support movable into and out of register with the door-way, a door adjustable on the support to opening and closing positions, counter-balancing invention, I

into and out of the plane closed positions, an operating element for adjusting the door, adjustable counterweights carried by the yoke, and connections between said counterweights and the operating element for simutaneously adjusting the COLlIltGI'WBlglltS with the door.

8. In a retort, a swinging'support'movable into and out of register with the door-way, a

door adjustable on the support to openlng and closingv positions, counter-balancing means adjustable on the swinging support, a manually operable element carried by the swinging support for adjusting the door, and means simultaneously acting in the adjustments of the door through the action of said element for adjusting the counterbalancing means. 7

4. In a retort, the combination of a retort body having a doorway, mounted upon the bodyfor movement into and out of the plane of the doorway, a door movable upon the yoke to open and closed positions, a screw shaft for adjusting the door, counterbalancing weights adjustably mounted upon the yoke, and lever mechanism operated by the screw shaft for adjusting the counter weights.

5. In a retort, the combination of a retort body having a doorway, a yoke pivotally mounted upon the retort body for movement into and out of the plane of the doorway, a door adjustable on the yoke for movement to open and closed positions, a screw shaft for; adjusting the door, counterbalancing weights adjustably mounted on the yoke, a slide operated by the screw shaft, and lever mechanism actuated by the slide for adjusting said counterbalancing weights.

6. In a retort, the combination of a retort body having a doorway, a yoke pivotally mounted upon the retort body for movement of the doorway, a door adjustably mounted movement to open and closed positions, a screw shaft for adjusting the door, counterbalancing weights, adjustable on the yoke, a slide operated by the screw shaft with the a yoke pivotally on the yoke for door, and lever mechanism actuated by the slide for adjusting the counter weights.

7. In a retort, the combination of a retort body having a doorway, a yoke pivotally mounted thereon for movementinto and out of the plane of the doorway, said. yoke having extension arms, counterbalancing weights mounted on the sald extension arms,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT G. STILES.

a door movable on the yoke to open and closed positions, a screw shaft for adjusting the door, a slide actuated by said shaft, levers connected with the slide, and links Witnesses: connecting said levers With the counterbal- JOHN MARSHALL, ancing Weights. O. H. FARRAR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

